Entries open this week for one of the biggest bursary awards in the international trade; the £8,000 Geoffrey Roberts Award which commemoratesthe life and work of the late Geoffrey Roberts, a pioneering importer of top quality New World wines into the UK. The awardtakes place every two years and is open to anyone internationally who has a genuine commitment to a project or campaign to further the cause of New World wines or wines from Emerging Regions.
Jonathan Bourne May, The Worshipful Company of Vintners said, ‘The Geoffrey Roberts Award’ is undoubtedly one of the most pioneering bursaries in the UK wine trade and The Vintners Company is proud to be able to help further development of New World and Emerging Region wines. The prize used to be held annually but we have decided now to double the amount on offer and hold it every other year and we are expecting a record number of entries. This is an international award and we very much encourage entries from overseas.’’
The Award has been going since 1996and over the years has helped put wines made from ancient Carignan vines in Chile’s under-appreciated Maule region on the world map, facilitated Professor Roger Corder’s book The Wine Diet, and exposed a young Georgian wine producer to modern winemaking techniques in some of France’s top properties.
The most recent previous winners are:
2016 - Miquel Hudin wrote and published a wine guide to Georgia ‘Georgia. A guide to the Cradle of Wine’
2015 - Umay Çeviker assisted two rural vineyards in Turkey, raising awareness of two unknown viticultural areas and grape varieties from Anatolia.
2014 - Peter Csizmadia-Honigh researched and published the first ever book on Indian wines.
The closing date for submissions is 30 September 2018.
For full details on how to enter, go to www.geoffreyrobertsaward.com
About Geoffrey Roberts Award
The Geoffrey Roberts Award has been made since 1996 to commemorate the life and work of the late Geoffrey Roberts, a pioneering importer of top quality New World wines into the UK.
It was initially awarded every year but in 2016 it was changed to every two years. Since 2013 it has been administered by The Vintners Company.
Judges include leading figures in the UK and international trade.